It’s difficult to say whether the tax legislation Republicans are driving through Congress qualifies as a revenue bill—or an enemies list. It isn’t unusual for tax legislation to reward a political party’s supporters, and the GOP bill emphatically upholds that tradition by funneling its tax savings primarily toward business and […] Read more »
Public Opinion on Energy Policy under the Trump Administration
Most Americans want the government to combat climate change, but many lack opinions on specific climate and energy policies, according to a new poll from the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Beliefs about climate change have remained […] Read more »
Why the wiring of our brains makes it hard to stop climate change
… Humans aren’t well wired to act on complex statistical risks. We care a lot more about the tangible present than the distant future. Many of us do that to the extreme — what behavioral scientists call hyperbolic discounting — which makes it particularly hard to grapple with something like […] Read more »
Why Republicans are frozen on climate change
The swirling winds, pounding rains and enveloping floods of hurricanes Irma in Florida and Harvey in Texas have left deep scars across two of the nation’s largest states. But it’s still unlikely that these irresistible forces will dislodge one of Washington’s most immovable objects: the steadfast resistance of President Donald […] Read more »
Movie and Energy Industries Spawn Most-Polarized Views
At a time when partisan differences abound in American public opinion, Gallup finds the images of U.S. businesses and industries are not immune: There is a significant difference in how Republicans and Democrats rate nine of 25 business and industry sectors in the United States. CONT. Lydia Saad, Gallup Read more »
U.S. Business Sectors Gain or Hold Steady in Public Esteem
Americans’ overall impressions of six major sectors of the U.S. economy grew significantly more positive this year. Farming and agriculture saw the biggest improvement, with 70% now viewing it positively, up 15 percentage points from 2016. Americans are also more positive about education, the computer, real estate and sports industries, […] Read more »